WHAT YOU GET

WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE

A slightly less sharp edge at the bottom tips of the levers

WHAT WE THINK

A nice set of carbon levers with the added bonus of being some of the lightest we've tested.

Detailed Review

Summary
Ahh...the lowly brake lever. Another bike component that doesn’t get much attention (so long as it works), it’s just there at the end of our bars, it’s not glamorous or even interesting for the most part. When was the last time you pulled up at a race and someone said “sweet levers, man” umm...yeah, us too, never.

The Profile Design ABS Carbon Aerobrake levers are Profile Design's ultralight top of the line brake lever. They will probably still go largely unnoticed (even though they do look cool) but that’s actually a good thing with these levers because they just simply work.

When we first got these levers we were a little concerned about their durability. At first glance, they are obviously a sleek, svelte design but they have the appearance of being fragile as well. We have used and abused these levers through parts of two seasons now and they have held up extremely well. Even through racking in transition, travel, and daily use of these levers they still look and feel brand new.

The Profile Design Carbon Levers use multiple layers of multi-directional carbon to give these levers their good looks and strength. The levers also feature an aerospace engineered design. We don’t know how much time a brake lever can actually save you from an aero standpoint (probably not much) but the aero shape and barely there design of these levers give the wind very little to deal with.

Weight
uh...light, hopefully you got that by now. How light? Try 78 grams for the pair. We found that the lack of weight doesn’t seem to be detrimental to the durability of these levers. Depending on what levers you are replacing the Aerobrake levers could allow you to shed a few unwanted grams as well.

Function
We have these levers mounted on Profile’s Carbon Cobra Wing base bar so they match up really well and look good to boot. Not that you have to use this setup, but this pair has worked nicely for us and makes for a clean combination.

The ultra slim design of the levers make them easy to grab and easy to pull. While light as as feather, these levers seem to be super strong and rigid even under extreme braking. You can grab on to these levers and squeeze the hell out of them and they will keep coming back for more. The levers have a nice ergonomic single finger design and they just seem to fit your hands naturally. They also have a very nice smooth consistent feel when braking as well as being quite responsive and snapping back into place when released.

About the only bit of nitpicking we can do on these levers is that the very tips of the levers have a sharp edge to the design. Nothing major but just from a comfort standpoint we feel the edges could be smoothed up or rounded off a bit more.

Price Range
At the upper end of the brake lever spectrum, but comparable to other top of the line levers.

TriBomb Bottom Line
We have used these levers pretty much non-stop for over a year now with very little to complain about. If you’re looking for a nice set of levers to upgrade to these should be on your short list.